


El Diablo De Los Mares

by FrostStar, SnowyCarnations (CrimsonCarnations)



Series: Dead Men Tell No Tales [1]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Breaking, Fighting, M/M, Mocking, Pirate England, Pirate Spain, Pirates, Torture, cursing, first encounters, heretic fork
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-23
Updated: 2017-01-23
Packaged: 2018-09-19 13:08:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9441989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrostStar/pseuds/FrostStar, https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrimsonCarnations/pseuds/SnowyCarnations
Summary: Antonio has been a good captain, for a long time, undefeated by any other. That is until Arthur Kirkland comes around





	1. Chapter 1

Antonio grumbled as he sat up, head aching in pain as he realized where he was. He was in the brig of a ship. But he knew his brig and this was not it. No captain had ever beaten him except one and that made the inference that this must be captain Kirkland’s brig. He had never pictured himself coming down here, always hoping that one day Arthur would be in his. But they had only met weeks ago and it looks as if Antonio had lost their first battle. He grumbled and pushed himself onto his feet. That was when he realized something was wrapped around his neck. He reached up to feel something. It was cold and was some type of metal. As he ran his fingers back along it he realized it was attached to chains and with a slight turn this came to show that he as attached to the wall. He had no jacket or hat, they had been stripped of him and if his vision were clearer he’d say he could see them beyond the cell. But that view was blocked when he noticed a red coated man in front of him and he scowled deeply.

Arthur had one of his men watch the other until he came to and made sure he was notified at once. He grinned, almost sadistically as he stood up and sauntered down to the brig and stopped in front of the cell where he spent a moment just looking over the other “Well good morning to you, or afternoon should I say, you’ve been quite rude sleeping for most of yesterday and today. Tell me, I heard you haven’t lost to anyone, yet here we are.” He decided a little bit of boasting wasn’t amiss. He normally didn’t keep his prisoners for long, usually throwing them overboard so they could fend for themself or simply killing them, but he wanted to have a bit of fun, and it was interesting with how formidable the other had been. In all honesty if he had made any mistake he probably would’ve been the one to lose, but he wasn’t going to entertain that thought.

Antonio looked over the other captain and scoffed. “Well I’m sure I would have woken up sooner if I was sleeping by choice” He snapped. “No I have never lost, you would be the first. But I’m sure it was just beginners luck. It won’t happen again” he growled. “What kind of sick person are you though? You don’t get to beat me once and take away my coat. I’m still the most feared captain on the seas and some collar won’t change that” He added, still growling a bit. He stretched out his neck for a moment before relaxing it and crossing his arms over his chest.

Arthur’s eyes narrowed slightly “You certainly won’t be keeping that title much longer, my reputation has been growing and honestly I would have already had that title if I hadn’t killed 90% of the ships I find.” It was true, most of his reputation building has been done by any who survived his raids on land. He didn’t want the other to see he was actually offended, so what if he was a little less experienced, he was clearly up to par with the other having won their fight “And I can do whatever I like with you, though honestly I’ll probably get bored of you in a day or so and burn your coat and hat before throwing you overboard. No he wouldn’t kill him, he would need someone strong enough to keep him on his toes every now and then, that is if he survived swimming for however long it would take to find a ship or land.

Antonio huffed and uncrossed his arms to put his hands on his hips. “Oh I’m sure you would. Only that you would have to beat me and I would have to tell of it for you to get that title. So what if I don’t tell?” he smirked, though it dropped at the mention of burning his things and he growled a bit. “You will not burn that fucking coat you bitch. That is my fucking coat and if you fucking burn it I’ll come back and fucking stab your ass so many times you’ll forget your own name” He snapped. That coat meant a lot to him and he wouldn’t let some other man burn it. He honestly didn’t care about being thrown overboard. He was one of the best swimmers as well and it would be no time before he had found himself a boat or some other means of getting to land. He knew his way around the oceans.

Arthur rose a brow and his grin came back even wider “Oh really? I’d love to see you try. And you can’t really stop me can you?” He took a step back and reached up to where he threw the others hat and coat onto a hook, lightly running his hand over it “It’s always fun to burn the things people hold the most dear and watching their desperation or anger rise up as the flames slowly encompass their things, it’s more fun to see the angry ones though and you seem like a very entertaining sort.”

Antonio growled and took a few steps forward before remembering that he had to be careful with a large chain attached to his neck. His scowl deepened and he clenched his hands into fists. “I’ll burn your fucking ship down. You’ll regret even trying to face me. My crew will slaughter your men and I’ll be there, watching you grovel and beg for forgiveness” He snapped. He was hoping he came off as intimidating, though from the other side of a cell he almost doubted it.

Arthur snorted, almost laughing at the threat “Yeah you do that. My men are more than capable of handling yours, and as I’ve already shown, I’m more than capable of handling you. Now I have a ship to run, now you be a good little prisoner or no food for you, ta ta.” He waved almost mockingly as he sauntered away to continue his duties as captain. Deciding letting the other stew alone in the cell would be better when he came back later on, more entertainment would be nice.

Antonio growled a bit and spat in his direction before turning and pacing as far as the chain would let him. He had to come up with some way out of this with his coat at least. He would also have to find some way to get his ship back and work on practicing a lot harder. He couldn't be beaten again. He was curious though, to find out what Arthur would do if he pissed him off enough.

Arthur had already put into motion on practicing much more than he was before, hitting three different islands within the week rather than the normal one for the week he usually did, it would be a tight schedule, but they were fairly close and he was certain they could do it. It would build up their endurance at the least. Once dinner rolled around he took his time eating then smugly made his way down, making sure to wear it on his face to annoy the other some more “Comfortable?”

Antonio had stopped pacing at some point and just stood in deep thought. He didn’t really notice the time that went by as he couldn’t see the sky and therefore had no way of telling time. He snapped out of thought when he heard a voice and looked at Arthur with another scowl. “Oh yes because a thick piece of metal around my neck and a cold brig is so comfortable” He grumbled before turning fully to him and crossing his arms again.

Arthur’s grin widened, he figured that, that’s why it was fun to ask “I’m glad you think so, I was thinking of adding some for the ankles and wrists at some point, what say you?” He tilted his head lighty, not really caring about his opinion either way, he was going to do it at some point, though whether during the Spaniard’s little visit, or after he wasn’t too sure.

“I think you aren’t high enough to deserve my opinion” he snapped. “But I’m sure you’ll see my brig and be disgusted with how your own is” he smirked proudly. His own brig as much more intimidating, having a rancid smell and weapons scattered about. Of course he had it for much longer he was certain. But he always replaced the chains, not wanting his prisoners to get some disease from them. He definitely had more chains than Arthur though.

Arthur shrugged “I haven’t had much time to customize my brig, I usually kill my prisoners within the day anyway, they get boring. I’ll be making a few stops during the week so I might just find some new things to add, may be a bit more fun down here.” His grin grew all the more sadistic as he thought about it, actually enjoying the idea of playing with his prisoners rather than kill them right away.

Antonio rolled his eyes. “Well there’s your problem. You’re a shitty captain if all you do is kill. What did you do? Grow up with shitty stories and say one day ‘oh I’ll go out and become a pirate today. I’m sure I’ll be the best’” Antonio faked a british accent while he said this, mocking the blonde then laughing about it. “I’ll give you props for beating me once kid but like I said it’s beginners luck.”

Arthur couldn’t help the irritation that rose up from the other mocking him, then calling him a kid. His eyes narrowed but he pushed the irritation away and let a smirk form instead “Oh well if I have no use for someone, why keep them around? And if it was beginners luck, funny how you were beaten quite easily by it, I have to say you aren’t as great as you think you are.” It almost came out as a purr, and he leaned against the entryway as his eyes returned to showing mirth.

Antonio only rolled his eyes. “For reputation. The only way to build up reputation is to let people talk about you. You have to strike enough fear into someone that they will warn others about you. No wonder no one has heard of you. Notice how everyone knows who I am? Because I know how to be a pirate” he laughed.

Arthur’s eyes narrowed again, “I leave my mark well enough on our land raids, taking one or two prisoners from a ship and killing them really makes no difference.” He scoffed before standing straight and taking a step closer “And I noticed you decided not to comment on how interesting it is you were beaten by simple ‘beginner's luck’.” As if he hadn’t worked his ass off to get to the level he was at now for two years.


	2. Chapter 2

Antonio scowled. “It was an off day” he growled. “It doesn't make you some great captain anything like that if that is what you think. You can't beat me once and assume you are some great captain. As far as I am concerned you are and will always be a shitty captain.” he responded, putting his hands on his hips.

Arthur rose a brow, his irritation was slowly growing but he was still fairly successful at ignoring it “And why do you assume I’m basing my reputation off of you? The only thing I’ve considered by beating you is how much I’ve grown with my swordsmanship, and no matter what you say I’ve beaten you and I consider myself better than you. Especially since you’re the one in the cell rather than me right now.” His eyes still showed great amusement, but they started to glint with anger as he nearly lost his smirk to a glare.

Antonio huffed. “Because kid if you don't base your reputation off beating me you have no reputation. But it’s just the beginning of a war and I’m certain you won't get very far before it’s over. I've beaten countless men and lost as often. But I never lose the war” he stated proudly, rolling his eyes at the brit. “You don’t even look intimidating”

Arthur’s lip curled slightly at being referred to as a kid once again and then at the comment that he wasn’t intimidating. If that hadn’t caught his attention he would’ve laughed at the Spaniard’s cliche line about never losing the war. He leaned close to the bar “You’d better watch your fucking mouth when talking to me you filthy Spaniard.” He snarled out, his eyes had no traces of amusement as he glared coldly at the brunette in front of him. He was close to ripping the cell door open and physically shutting him up.

Antonio only laughed at the threat. “Oh I’m so scared. What are you going to do? Draw on eyebrows to match those” he gestured to Arthur’s eyebrows and laughed. This was the most amusing time he had ever had being in a brig. Arthur got angry so easily it was just another poor quality for a captain. He'd never be good unless he learned to calm himself.

Arthur went from a curled lip to bared teeth as he reached through the bars and grabbed the Spaniard by his shirt and quickly and roughly yanked him forward. Everyone always fucking insulted his eyebrows, it wasn’t his damned fault, it was his stupid genes. “I’ll show you what I’m going to do.” He snarled before letting go to yank the cell door open and used his other hand to swing a clenched fist into the brunettes face.

Antonio gagged at the tugging since it also tugged at the chain against his neck. He huffed and stumbled back, crossing his arms and adjusting a bit before he felt Arthur’s fist come in contact with his face. Well he deserved that he must say, but not out loud of course. He laughed a bit and rubbed his cheeks. “Huh stronger than I would have expected from someone your size”

Arthur would have been satisfied with just that if the Spaniard had reacted in a different way, but that just angered him even more and he didn’t stop with just one hit. He stepped forward, getting in the others space again, grabbing the chain to yank him forward again as he swung his fist, this time aiming for the abdomen. Then switching it up a bit, letting his anger out with each hit.

Antonio wasn’t that surprised when it didn't stop. He was upset that the chain was around his neck like this since it gave Arthur much more control over his body and it was super frustrating. Once again he would never admit that though. Though the punches did receive a few winces and grunts from the Spaniard.

Arthur wasn’t so quick to be satisfied now. He let all his frustration out before shoving the other away from him into the wall basically as he turned away in slight disgust. “Have fun starving” He shot over his shoulder as he stormed out slamming the cell shut behind him as he left.

Antonio grumbled and slid to the ground, coughing a few times and holding his chest and huffing. Well that was pretty intense. Arthur really did get mad too easily. It wasn’t that easy to just break Antonio though. Sure he would express pain. Who wouldn’t. But he was a feared captain and he wouldn't express much less than that.

Arthur took a few deep breaths before calming himself by planning their next raid which would take place within the next day. His crew sensed the mood he was in and took very careful steps around him when they were in the same vicinity. Everyone knew he had a nasty temper and didn’t like it being directed at them. Arthur eventually retired to his little office where he let go of the rest of his irritation as he focused on his maps and papers.

Antonio stood at some point and began to pace again. He wondered how angry he would have to make Arthur to be annoying. The more annoying he was the more likely he was to get thrown out. He would probably steal one of Arthur’s boats to get back to the mainland. But he had to get the brit to that point.

Arthur went to bed and when he woke up he was in his regular mood and he ate a lavish breakfast before sauntering down the stairs to the brig. “Sleep well? I won’t be able to spend too much time down here as I have a raid to head in a few hours. And then I’ll specifically look for some places that would give nice additions to this room, just for you.” He had a smug tone as he said this and leaned languidly against the doorframe of the room.

Antonio slept after a while, running his fingers through his hair. He woke at the same time as usual and grumbled when he woke up in the brig again. “Ah really? Just for me? Oh I feel so special” he laughed. “I could tell you a few places a shitty pirate like yourself would just love” he looked over him and raised an eyebrow.

Arthur snorted “Wouldn’t that be the point? To make prisoners like you as uncomfortable as possible?” His smirk widened just a little, he’d go for the durable things for sure, but he would rather find things that were actually good to use to make prisoners uncomfortable at the least, and in large amounts of pain at best.

Antonio huffed and realized that what he said wasn’t as much of an insult as he intended. “I already told you the point of keeping prisoners was to build reputation. Make what you will with that.” he shrugged and crossed his arms. “I hope you don't expect me to give you pointers on how to treat me” he laughed. “You'd be stupid to believe anything I said. Even if I was telling the truth. Oh I see now. You’re a fan aren’t you? That’s why!”

Arthur’s lip curled up in slight disgust at that “I’m far from a fan, how you could even come to that conclusion is beyond me. You’re fucking delusional, and who the hell said I believed anything you were saying, since more often than not it’s you trying to insult me. Hah!” He shook his head, his irritation coming back faster than it had yesterday.

Antonio laughed. “If you are far from a fan you must be my biggest fan” he teased. “Ah so you noticed my insults? Why are you getting so upset? If you don't believe me it shouldn't affect you should it? But it does so you know it is true” he smirked.

Arthur’s jaw clenched slightly “Wrong on both accounts. By far from it I mean I more or less despise you, and just because the insults are annoying doesn’t mean I believe them” He rolled his eyes slightly at the others logic when he thought about it but it didn’t stop his irritation from growing. “If you don’t want another beating, or even some fucking food, I’d advise you to shut the hell up.”

Antonio crossed his arms over his chest. “Oh I am so scared. You don’t scare me, kid. We already talked about this. I have gone for quite a while without food so your threats mean nothing to me and trust me I have taken a much worse beating than anything you can dish out.” he laughed.

There it was, kid, once again, it was really starting to piss him off, he was more than certain he wasn’t even that much younger than the brunette. “Good because I had some plans for you after the raid as well.” He growled before ripping the cell open and moving in like last night, grabbing the chain and yanking him forward to keep him off balance before taking out as much aggression as he could, not caring about holding back or ‘going easy’.

Antonio laughed a bit. He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. “Is that so?” he raised an eyebrow. He grumbled in annoyance as Arthur tugged at the chain again, gasping when he began to hit him again. He had to refriend from hitting back, though he remembered he really had no reason to so he shrugged and lifted his leg up to collide with Arthur’s side.

Arthur usually would have stumbled back, but he was too angry at the moment to really pay much attention to it, shrugging it off before using it to his advantage gripping the other’s leg and pulling away from the wall so the chain would help him at the least keep him off balance, if he was lucky though the Spaniard would actually fall.


	3. Chapter 3

Antonio’s eyes went wide as he felt Arthur grab at his leg. He would have liked to admit he could stay on one leg but that was an unfortunately false point to make as he did fall on his ass and grunted as the chain tugged at his throat, causing him to gag again and cough a few times. He winced and glared up at Arthur.

Arthur sneered and reached down just to haul the Spaniard to his feet only to swing at him again, he was still pissed and didn’t give a damn about what the brunette wanted to say or him trying to fight back, that would really only make him angrier. His stamina couldn’t keep up with his anger though, he wouldn’t be able to keep this up for too much longer, his anger only took him so far.

Antonio gasped and huffed. He tried his best to avoid Arthur’s punches from there though if he was being honest he was getting tired from the beating as well. He lifted his arms up, trying to get in at least one punch. If he could punch Arthur in the face that would be great.

Arthur scrunched his eyebrows, slightly confused when the other lifted his arms, thinking it was a poor attempt at blocking anything. He swung his fist with the last of his real strength, aiming for the others stomach before gripping the chain and using it to pull the other forward before pulling it taut and shoving it and the Spaniard away toward the wall just like the night before.

Antonio gasped and coughed loudly. He gripped at his stomach. He slid to the ground and coughed violently, struggling a lot with the constant tugging at his neck by these chains. Not to mention Arthur seemed to love punching him in the stomach, which really didn't help the breathing situation.

Arthur stood for a second, looking down at the brunette before curling is lip in disgust and turned on his heel before leaving, closing the cell behind him as he went. He had a raid to prepare for and win.

Antonio looked up at Arthur and grumbled. He stayed on the ground to try and catch his breath. Shit, he knew he should bite his lip but he wanted to get Arthur to get rid of him not beat him more. Arthur didn't particularly seem to be leaning that way. He seemed to want to beat him every time he opened his mouth.

It was rather a good thing Antonio managed to get Arthur so worked up right before the raid, sure he was tired, but his aggression made it easier to intimidate those trying to fight to give up and to get what he needed a lot faster. Of course he still had his men set fire to any building they wished as they gathered whatever looked valuable and whatever they needed as well. He had a few of them search for more chains and some other things as they went before looking around in dark satisfaction. It was always a sight he enjoyed. Once it was done they all headed back to the ship, where they enjoyed a larger than normal meal courtesy of the chef.

Antonio grew bored and annoyed after awhile of waiting for Arthur to come back. He had always kind of wondered what it was like to be stuck down here with nothing to do while he was up top working. Now he knew. It was excruciatingly boring. He could tell when Arthur was back on the ship, able to hear the footsteps. He grumbled, knowing that meant Arthur would be back down here in awhile since Arthur had mentioned having other plans.

Arthur waved off a couple of his men to go reconfigure the chains and cuff the spaniard. They took the chains and did as told, two simply keeping Antonio subdued as the other three worked to attach the chains to the one mount and then cuff each wrist and ankle. The wonderful thing about these new ones were that they were adjustable, the prisoner couldn’t of course, it required the key which he managed to get the right one for. So he could keep the other pinned very uncomfortable to one spot, or allow him some leeway to move around a bit. He’d already planned on allowing some movement for a few of his little instruments he wanted to put to use, and keep him pinned if he decided to do a little carving. His men left the Spaniard once they got everything decently set up and went about their duties while Arthur went about sorting through everything he snagged. He didn’t want to start off too bad and only have the little things left, that would be almost anticlimactic and it would just give the Spaniard something else to use as material for insults. He had everything gathered from past raids as well. He managed to snag a heretic’s fork from a museum once, at the time just to prove he could. He didn’t think he would use it as it was a little rusty and just plain out of date from the time and age they were in, but you can’t really throw away something that was made for torture and back then he would say some of the best torture devices were produced. Nowadays torture was more wishy washy and direct. He set the heretics fork in his pile for immediate use. He could keep that on the pirate the entire time really. He also set the pocket knife and whip down in that pile. He put everything else to the side before gathering up what he wanted to use and slowly made his way down the stairs and into the brig where he set everything on a little stand he had someone bring down with the chains and he gave a wide sadistic grin “Well hello there, enjoy the new bling?”

Antonio looked up when he noticed other men coming in and his eyes widened as he was pulled at and chained up again. He tried to make it as difficult for them as possible, growling and kicking his feet out. Though somehow they got him chained back anyway and he tugged at them, snapping and biting in their direction until they were gone. He panted and looked at his wrists, growling in irritation. He looked up again when Arthur could be heard and his eyes widened. He didn’t like this at all. Arthur had some sick plan that he wanted nothing to do with and he would hate to admit that he was a bit scared. He hid that and would never admit it of course. But Arthur was more intimidating now that Antonio couldn’t really fight back. “No. I don’t enjoy it” he snapped.

Arthur’s grin widened “Good.” He walked closer and opened the cell door before grabbing the heretics fork and pondered for just a moment before grabbing whip. It didn’t really look very special when one first glanced at it but it was a bit worse than an actual whip. It was smaller than a regular whip, one had to be in very close quarters for it to be very effective. But it had two leather pieces running from the handle and at the end had small bit of glass and metal. It didn’t need to give a very hard blow to break skin with how sharp the glass was and the blunt metal would cause quite the bruising depending on how hard the blow was. He held both instruments up lazily “Now I want to put this on,” holding the heretics fork up a bit more to gesture to it “and I want you to willingly let me. Otherwise, I’ll use this until you cooperate.” This time he held up the whip. He could just force the others head back after adjusting the chains so he really couldn’t move, but there was a reason why he wanted to do it this way. There was something about forcing people to give in and cooperate and allow things to happen to them, it broke them all the more faster, and really the main goal of torture is to break the mind. He especially wanted that with Antonio, just to prove he was better. “So tilt your head back.”

Antonio’s eyes went wide. He didn’t care much about the whip but the fork sent chills down his spine. He tried to move away from Arthur though with the wall in his way he didn’t get very far. “You’re fucking crazy if you think I am going to let you put that thing around my neck. Where the hell did you even get that? It’s so old! Fuck that. Look kid I know I pissed you off but that’s a little much. There’s no way I’ll just let you put that thing anywhere near me” His fear was showing ever so slightly now. To be fair who’s wouldn’t when faced with some old medieval device of torture. “Get the fuck away from me”

Arthur’s jaw clenched, only slightly noticeable at the reference to him being a kid once again. But he smoothed it out with a smirk and twirled the little whip “Now, now, don’t be such a grouch. One would almost think you really don’t do much with your prisoners if you’re that surprised by this little thing.” He turned it slowly until it glinted from the low light, the parts that weren’t rusty he had shined up for this exact purpose. He liked his dramatics. He looked down at the little instrument and waited a moment before lashing out with the whip quickly, catching the spaniards arm. “I can always force you, and I don’t think you want to risk any accidental slip ups do you?”

Antonio winced as the whip hit his arm and he hissed. He looked at his arm then at Arthur. He wasn’t sure what to do. He didn’t know what to say or how to even accept that. He couldn’t just let Arthur put it around his neck. But he also didn’t want anything to happen with it if it was forced either. For god's sake it could kill him if it went into him too much. He curled his lip in disgust at the thought of having it around his neck but he would just have to let it happen at this rate. He didn’t respond to Arthur, frustrated and not sure what to say.

Arthur waited a minute before raising a brow “Well? If you don’t answer then I’m going to assume you still aren’t cooperative.” He didn’t want to try and put it on then be surprised with resistance or get head butted or something along those lines, though if the Spaniard tried that he should be prepared to get the fork poking into his neck, courtesy of Arthur, though he would make sure it would be the same pressure if he dropped his head in all honesty. He still didn’t want to kill him, he would most likely let the Spaniard go once he broke him.

Antonio’s eyes went wide and he shook his head. “Fuck what would you like? I’m not gonna fucking ask you to put it on me. I won’t struggle but I’m not gonna tell you to put it on” he snapped. He didn’t want that thing in his neck or in his chin so he wouldn’t struggle but he would rather not have it on at all. He just hoped that Arthur didn’t plan on doing much while it was on. He would have to hold his neck up and if Arthur planned on hurting him a lot that would be extremely hard. Hm Maybe he should have shut up the first time he pissed Arthur off. Not that he could change that now.


	4. Chapter 4

Arthur rose a brow “An answer is what I was looking for.” He responded dryly before moving forward and quickly pushed the others head back, not being as gentle as he could have before strapping it on, making sure it was snug along the neck and the fork itself was positioned accurately between the throat and collar bone of his chest. He stepped back to look it over before nodding in satisfaction. “There. Snug?” He asked, amusement clear in his voice, slight disdain, mostly from the others earlier comment still present.

Antonio gulped and tried to keep his neck stretched out while Arthur was fastening it around his neck. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to relax, knowing that at this point the wrong move could send the fork into either end. He looked at Arthur with as much of a glare as he could. He couldn't respond and he hoped Arthur knew that.

Arthur’s grin widened just slightly “I’ll leave you like that for a bit then come back to see how well you can handle that and pain.” He thought it would be more painful after the Spaniard spent a few hours trying to keep his head up constantly, along with the worry of accidentally dropping his head. Worry and stress were almost always guaranteed to cause fatigue and he was going to use it to his advantage. He twirled the whip once to catch the other’s attention onto it before turning and sauntering out with a short laugh. He threw the whip onto the little table next to the pocket knife as he went. He intended to use them shortly so why bother bringing them in and out?

Antonio’s eyes went a bit wider. He was supposed to just sit like this? How was he to be expected to hold his head up like that? Well desperation he supposed and that was the only thing. He clenched his hands into fists and squeezed his eyes shut again, breathing calmly to try and keep himself from panicking.

Arthur took his time going about his duties as captain. He decided three hours was plenty of time to wait before calmly making his way back down into the brig, though his eyes showed his curiosity and excitement at seeing the results of the little fork. He stopped in front of the cell and tilted his head a bit “Well hello there, comfortable?” He obviously knew he wasn’t but he loved annoying him like this. He lightly grabbed the whip first, slowly inspecting it as he thought over how to go about this and keep the other from getting too damaged. After all he didn’t wish to kill him and had to be careful of drawing too much blood between the little whip and knife.

Antonio shifted his feet when he heard Arthur. He opened his eyes and winced a bit. There were small beads of blood at the end of the fork from not having been able to keep his head in the same position for 3 hours. God he just desperately hoped Arthur would take it off soon. He couldn't handle this and being whipped. He wasn’t supposed to be the one suffering like this. He was a captain for God's sake! But this was not comfortable and it almost made him want to cry. Almost. He couldn't let Arthur break him this easily though.

Arthur smirked when he noticed the light amount of blood and hummed “Well lets see how well you can handle a bit of pain and trying to keep still, hmm?” His grin widened to where he showed his teeth, and he quickly stepped into the cell and stepped right in front of the other. “Am I going to have to pin you to the wall in a very uncomfortable position or are you going to manage to stay still?” He practically purred as he looked the other in the eyes.

Antonio’s eyes went wide. Oh god Arthur was fucking crazy. What was he supposed to do? He couldn't keep his head like this for that much longer let alone while he was being whipped. He wanted to answer this so badly. He wanted to have Arthur take this stupid device off. This was getting ridiculous. It hurt and he felt like he could collapse at any moment. But he knew he couldn't. He could end up dead if he did and that was not something he wanted.

Arthur hummed for a second before quickly lashing his arm out and abruptly stopped, letting the whip do all the work. He did so twice more before staking a step back to survey the other’s reaction. He really was enjoying this, and wondered why he didn’t try something like this long ago. It was all thanks to the spaniard really, and he said so, nonchalantly, basically implying it was the brunettes own fault this happened. Which was also true because he didn’t want to shut up wither.

Antonio winced and squeezed his eyes shut tighter. This time tears did build up in his eyes. It was an involuntary reaction at this point. He didn't know what to do. This was impossible. He was sickened by the idea that this was his fault. Even if it was true. His chin moved ever so slightly and he could feel the small beads form small trails that ran down his chest and the other ends of the fork. This had to end soon. What more could Arthur want from him? Was he trying to get him to give in and let the fork stab him? He hoped not. He would like to get out of this alive, most likely terribly injured. But alive would be nice.

Arthur looked over him, with half lidded eyes before lashing out a few more times. He found it amusing the other seemed to be crying, and realized he was probably reaching the line between too much and just enough. He might have to back off a bit, maybe take off the fork for a bit. He dropped his arm before stepping forward again, standing just a few inches away and reached up and tugged on the little instrument “You want this off I would reckon? I am rather enjoying you not talking but, I don’t know enough pain could make you scream, eh?” He tugged on it once again.

Antonio had to curl his toes and clench his hands into tighter fists to avoid moving much more. He was trembling at this point and he would have flinched if he weren't so terrified to move when Arthur tugged on it. It didn't help the pain to have Arthur tugging at it like that. He opened his eyes again to try and look down at him, hoping that his eyes pleading was enough to answer that question. Of course he wanted it off. Oh god how he wanted it off. It hurt so much. If Arthur didn't want him to talk he would shut up just god please take it off.

Arthur looked at the other for a long moment, he couldn’t deny he absolutely loved seeing that expression on the Spaniard. He didn’t know why really but he was more than satisfied with it, though he wanted to see it some more, he thought the other deserved the reward of having the heretic’s fork removed. But first he decided to adjust the chains a little bit, completely pinning the other’s wrists and ankles to the wall rather than giving him any leeway like before. He grinned and turned back to the other where he slowly removed the heretic’s fork. After it was removed he hummed lightly and languidly wiped his hand over the other’s neck, swiping up the little drops of blood and smearing slightly as he pulled his hand away “You look quite nice like that I must say.” He laughed lightly before turning away to grab his little knife and set down the whip.

Antonio had to refrain from gasping when he felt the chains tighten and pull him toward the wall. He had almost lost hope that Arthur would remove it until he approached again and finally removed the device. Antonio’s neck practically collapsed and he winced, feeling a slight sting from Arthur touching the wounds. He opened his mouth and winced, jaw sore. He didn't speak, not wanting to push his luck and having remembered Arthur mentioning him enjoying the silence. He just kept his mouth open for a moment to breath through it and relax his jaw. He was able to wince now from the pain of being whipped and he turned his head to look at the wounds and then turned to look at Arthur again, sniffling and trying to stop his tears now that he could focus on that.

Arthur approached again and nearly crooned “Aww no need to stop those pretty little tears luv.” He flashed the little knife and ran it lightly down the other’s cheek before moving and quickly running it over the spaniards arm, watching avidly as a thin red line followed along. His eyes flicked back up to catch the others reaction to that before slashing out even more quickly, though not catching any skin, smoothly cutting through the cloth around the brunettes abdomen. He grabbed a hold of the one piece and pulled, exposing the other’s entire torso. He kept his eyes on the other face through the entire process and he held the little knife up before running it over his chest, slowly putting pressure until another red line appeared, though this time the blood actually forms little beads and was slightly deeper than the little scratch on Antonio’s arm. He didn’t want to hear words, but expressions and sounds is what he wanted out of the other.

Antonio looked at Arthur and huffed a bit. He winced and moved his cheek away then winced again when the knife actually cut into his arm. He was a bit surprised when Arthur cut his shirt away. He tensed and squeezed his eyes shut when Arthur started to cut at his chest. He whined out a bit in pain and huffed.

Arthur tilted his head and hummed in satisfaction, that’s what he wanted. He probably would only be able to get a bit more out of him before it became too much for the Spaniard. He didn’t want to ruin him after all, especially not now. “Oh don’t close your eyes, it takes away from you wonderful expressions.” He leaned forward a bit as he said that, getting very close, though he had to look up, the spaniard was a bit taller than him, and also being chained to the wall gave a bit more height, but Arthur didn’t mind, his chin just barely brushing over the other’s chest before stepping away a very wide grin on his face. He twirled the knife for a moment, watching the few drops of blood that had gotten on it glint in the dim light before getting a fabulous idea. He decided to voice it after a few more flicks of his wrist, watching in fascination at each new line of blood appear on the Spaniards dark skin. He glanced up at the Spaniard and waited for him to give eye contact. “Now I was planning on just keeping you in here to play with whenever I needed to release a bit of aggression, but I just came up with a wonderful idea. You are going to work on this ship during the day and put down here at night.” He wasn’t suggesting it, he was stating it. That was exactly what was going to happen. He wasn’t worried about the other trying anything, he had more men than Antonio would be able to handle, especially when he most definitely wasn’t at full strength.


	5. Chapter 5

Antonio looked up at Arthur and winced, squeezing his eyes shut again when he continued to slash at him with the knife. He panted shakily when Arthur stopped and looked up at him to show he was listening. Arthur was actually going to trust him around the ship? Well it was better than being tied up down here he supposed. But still. He didn't want to work for Arthur. He was a captain not some cabin boy. He huffed but didn't object, once again not wanting to push his luck.

Arthur took that as agreement and grinned “Good boy.” He looked him up and down for a moment before gathering the taters of the shirt and turned around “I think I’m done for the night. Goodnight.” He crowed, his voice once again full of mirth and dark satisfaction. He closed the cell door behind him and set everything back down on the table before leaving the brig to get some rest himself. He thought the little session went very well and enjoyed the first taste of torture, excited to try other things out if the Spaniard decided to incite more of his wrath, otherwise he would just stick to those three little things.

Antonio hung his head and winced. How exactly was he supposed to sleep if he was left chained up like this? He would like to sleep since it would relieve a lot of the pain. He supposed he could deal with it though. He wasn't being left with the fork on his neck so that was a plus. He definitely wouldn't sleep if he were left like that. But after the exhaustion and pain hit him it didn't take that long to pass out.

Arthur woke up around the usual time for him, which was considered early for some, and grabbed breakfast for himself. He debated for a long moment before deciding if he wanted the spaniard to do a fairly decent job cleaning and such he would need to eat something. He took him some left over scraps and made his way into the brig “I decided to be a bit nice and give you some food to keep you up for the day of cleaning and nightly activities.” He grinned, a very sharp, and darkly excited type of grin. He opened the cell door and started to readjust the chains to allow the spaniard enough room to grab the food to eat “And if you are exceptionally good, I won’t even use the heretic’s fork tonight, and don’t think of trying anything because all of my men will be watching you as well.” He stated, rather cheerfully, but with a warning edge to it.

Antonio woke early since he was in pain and it was hard to sleep in the position he was in. He looked up at Arthur when the Brit spoke. Well he was glad to be getting food at least. He would rather not die of starvation if he could avoid it. When the chains adjusted he pulled his arms in and winced a bit. He was glad to hear that all he had to do was be good and he could avoid that fork again. He hated that he had been taught to thank for his meals. But he had and he would. “Thanks” he grumbled a bit. He didn't plan on trying anything. He didnt know Arthur well enough to push his luck.

Arthur let out a short breath that could’ve been a slight laugh. He liked the thanks, it was oddly satisfying coming from a prisoner. He stretched lightly and waited for the other to finish before flashing the key “Hold out your wrists and ankles so I can uncuff you, then you can get to cleaning. Any of my men will be able to tell you what to do or how to do it if you don’t know how.” He couldn’t resist the light jab.

Antonio huffed again and nodded. He held his hands out for Arthur. How exactly was he supposed to hold out his ankles though? He slid onto his butt so he could just kick his ankles out towards Arthur, raising an eyebrow. What did Arthur think of him? He wasn’t stupid. The most he would need to know is where things were. Not that he would really have that much trouble finding things like that.

Arthur snorted slightly at the other exaggerating with holding his ankles down, he wasn’t too opposed to bending down slightly to have undid the cuffs, but whatever works really. He tossed the chains to the floor and kicked them away a bit. “Alright then off you go.” He waved at him dismissively, obviously wanting him to go out first with Arthur following behind. “I’ll be watching as well since I’ll be on deck for awhile.” He pointed out.

Antonio grumbled a bit and stood up. He rubbed at his wrists and looked up at Arthur. “What exactly am I supposed to clean? You didn’t give me any instructions” He muttered as he walked forward, noticing that Arthur must have wanted him to walk in front. He would have to learn the layout of the ship as well, especially if Arthur just wanted him to clean everything.

Arthur sighed “That’s why I told you my men will be about telling you what needs to be cleaned. Anything and everything. They could always use extra hands.” They really did, they cleaned up after themselves fairly quickly but they were slobs as well. Fairly often something was missed until it became noticeable with a smell or even mold in extreme cases, and then the entire deck needed to be scrubbed down because Arthur certainly wasn’t going to chance the fungi spreading since there was so much water in the air due to the ocean spray and most fungi loved water. Arthur walked out after the Spaniard and made his way to the wheel. Though he kept half his focus on watching the Brunette, he kept it as subtle as possible.

Antonio rolled his eyes and nodded. He watched Arthur go off then went to do a bit of learning. He spoke to a few crew members and made faces at some of them before finding cleaning supplies and starting in some corner of the deck. He just decided to clean everything. He had no reason to ask if he just cleaned it all. That was his plan. So he started cleaning the sides of the boat as well as the deck.

Arthur rose a brow as he watched the Spaniard clean the sides as well. Unusual. But he didn’t see a reason to interfere. He didn’t think it ever occurred to anyone on the boat to clean the sides. Well except when they noticed and barnacles clinging to the sides, but that was all, so he was sure Antonio was going to enjoy it. He started to go over the course they were on and adjusted it slightly to keep on track to the next island. They would land there by tomorrow at the least if they kept on their fairly straight route. That was good, this island was way more populated than the last and the next one after that. 

Antonio honestly didn’t mind the cleaning. It hurt a bit because of his wounds but he never really cared much about cleaning. He almost thought it was funny that Arthur thought Antonio would care. He hummed a bit while he worked, moving along the side of the ship and scrubbing the deck. He actually did this on his own ship. They all worked together to clean the deck on his ship. It was how he got to know his crew so well. He was a bit cold without a shirt though.

Once Arthur adjusted everything to his liking he quietly looked around before slowly making his rounds. He hated cleaning, but he made sure everyone stayed on their duties, since not every crew member had to clean. Unless it was their annual cleaning day, then they would dock the ship and every single crew member would be on the same task of getting the ship spic and span, he would sometimes help too, but mostly he would keep an eye on everything and talk about anyones concerns or ideas they had for their raids or things they would like to try out weapon wise. After that Arthur would usually head to his office for a bit because he had to make sure everyone got paid, whether it be in food and board, his indentured servants, or actual gold or any valuables they acquired. But today he had already made the decision to stay on deck, and frankly he was going to cover that up with addressing anything and everything any crew member wanted. He eventually made his way close to the Spaniard and leaned on the rail “Well you’re going a bit beyond what I expected.” He shrugged lightly, a small amused smile on his face.

Antonio found one spot he had to stay for a moment but other than this he didn’t really take long to move. He looked up and paused when Arthur approached him. He shrugged and continued on. “On my ship, we clean as a unit. This is just what I am used to,” he replied, sitting back to wring out the rag he was using. He looked over the water for a moment then up at Arthur. He’d have to get new water in a moment but he would wait in case Arthur wanted to speak with him or mention something. He didn’t want to walk away while Arthur spoke. “I figured that it would be easier to just clean everything as opposed to asking every time I finished what I was doing what I was supposed to do next.”

Arthur shrugged “That was more for if you had a certain preference for cleaning something or more skill cleaning something over something else, but whatever you want so long as it gets done. You may eat with the crew come lunch and dinner, but you have to wait until they get their portions first before grabbing anything.” He wasn’t going to allow him a regular meal yet, and this time it was a special leeway he was offering simply because he hadn’t tried anything yet and went above what he was expecting. He thought he was only going to get a half-assed cleaning out of him. “After dinner you will be escorted back to the brig.”


	6. Chapter 6

Antonio shrugged in response and paused again when food was mentioned. He nodded. “Okay. Thank you” he muttered. He continued with his cleaning, scrubbing awkwardly. It was super weird to thank Arthur like this. But he was going to thank him if he was given food and it wasn’t like it actually meant anything at this point. It was just a habit he was used to saying. He set the rag in the dirty water one more time and rang it out. He didn’t know how Arthur did it but he just threw the water overboard. He supposed it would be best to ask Arthur’s preference though. Since this was his ship. “Do you have a preference for where the dirty water goes?”

Arthur rose a brow “No, we just throw it overboard.” He turned “I’ll see you later.” It was obviously a reference to tonight, though he was going to be nice and forego the heretics fork, but he wasn’t going to leave out the whip and knife. He could practice being more controlled with the whip as well.

Antonio shrugged it off and nodded. He dumped the water over the edge and filled the bucket again before getting back to the cleaning. He just hoped he was doing well to avoid the fork since that was absolutely awful and something he wanted nothing to do with. He looked up around lunchtime when he noticed that the others were moving towards the kitchen area and put the rag aside. He stood and stretched a bit. He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to wait until they all came out but he moved towards the room and waited to the side, watching with slight disgust at the display of them getting their food.

They definitely were slobs. They left very little, but enough to be called a small meal, as per orders from Arthur before they left. Only two plus the chef staying to clean up once Antonio finished his meal. Arthur spent his lunch in his office, taking his time and quickly looking over a few documents for his crew as he ate. He made his way back onto deck and made himself a seat, having taken a few documents with him plus a few maps to plan on.

Antonio gave the chefs a small smile then went about taking what was left that he could. He ate it quickly and thanked the chefs before going back out to continue his cleaning, wincing as he irritated one of his wounds but smiling as well. He hummed as he worked, almost wanting to irritate Arthur that he enjoyed this at least a little.

Arthur looked up every now and then. It was a tad irritating, but his slight enjoyment and amusement outweighed the irritation and he leaned back and tilted his head a bit as he lost focus on his work for a moment, his gaze sharp as he looked around, trying to see if any of his crew were slacking off or if Antonio was doing something wrong so he’d have an excuse to go over there, mostly to elicit some reactions.

Antonio was being rather careful not to mess up. He knew that if he was going to break it would be to that fork and he wanted to avoid that. He didn’t want to break for Arthur. He wanted the brit to get so frustrated that he wouldn’t break he would just let him go. He just had to hold his tongue since if anything was going to get him in trouble it would be that.

Arthur watched him for a few minutes, not caring that he was actually staring, before emitting a light inaudible sigh before turning his attention back to the maps. Once he finished that he made his rounds one last time, slowly going around to each individual crew member before making his way over to the Spaniard “Oi, how much longer? Everyone else is almost done.” He stated lately as he walked up to the brunette.

Antonio was nearly done until he hear Arthur. He jumped and knocked the bucket of dirty water over, wincing and huffing. He glared up at Arthur and tilted the bucket up. “Well. I was almost done” he grumbled, using the rag to stop the water from travelling too far.

Arthur’s lip curled up as some water splashed onto his outfit. It wouldn’t have been too bad if it wasn’t dirty. He took a step forward, a scowl forming on his face “And I don’t give a fuck, I don’t appreciate filthy water being spilled onto my clothes.”

Antonio looked up at Arthur and scoffed. “What? That was your fault! You can’t possibly blame this on me!” He sat back on his haunches and crossed his arms. He looked over Arthur’s outfit and huffed. “It wasn’t even that much water. It’s not like it will be hard to get out” he grumbled before going back to wiping up the water.

Arthur’s eyes narrowed at the response and his lip curled up in a sneer as he looked down at Antonio “And you’re supposed to be a pirate captain, aye? They are supposed to be paying attention to their surroundings at all times.” He snapped back “It’s almost like you did it on purpose, to give a cheeky little comeback?” He straightened his back as he turned away “We’ll see if you have anymore of those after tonight.” He snarled as he stormed off, first to clean up his clothes. Now he had an excuse to do whatever he damned well pleased, even though really he could have before, but he had said he would be not so harsh for good behavior. But that was out the window at this point. He knew it wasn’t on purpose, but he was going to continue to act like he believed so.

Antonio’s eyes went wide. He actually thought he did it on purpose? He growled and then paused. He reached up to feel at his neck and gulped. He hadn’t meant to...this wasn’t fair! He had been doing so good all day. One stupid mistake and he was going to have that thing on his neck again. God this was going to be awful. He finished up cleaning up after the mess and the last of the deck, dumping the water over board. He pressed his forehead into his hands and grumbled. This was stupid and unfair.

Arthur spent enough time in his cabin to be served dinner there rather than on deck or in his office and after dinner he decided to head straight to the brig after he knew Antonio would have been escorted down and cuffed again. He quietly made his way in a cold look on his face as he wandered over to the little table on the side and picked up the fork. He inspected it closely, mostly to really have the Spaniard understand what he was going to do. He looked up at the Spaniard “I’m not really going to do anything, not for a few hours at least.” He stated nonchalantly before stepping forward, head back like last time, I’m not going to be so gentle this time.”

Antonio watched him, gulping and trembling a bit. He was terrified but he was trying not to show it. He didn't want that around his neck. Not again. He didn't understand why Arthur was doing this. For goodness sake he was so careful, being silent and just working all day. He made one mistake and he was being punished as if he had been defiant all day. He didn't speak again, just squeezing his eyes shut and lifting his chin when Arthur neared him, knowing he couldn't fight it so he wouldn't try.

Arthur grinned and quickly put it in place, securing the strap and adjusting it accordingly “Good boy.” He purred before patting him on the arm as he stepped away. “I will see you in a few hours. Don’t fall asleep on me.” He sang cheerfully as he sauntered out of the brig. He would have to find something to occupy his time for at least three hours.

Antonio forced himself to relax so that his neck wouldn't tense. He wouldn't even consider sleep right now. Once Arthur was gone for a while the tears came back and the scabs forming from the first time cracked and broke, causing him to start bleeding rather quickly again.

Arthur took his time to get back to the brig and he leaned against the doorway for a moment to look at the brunette. He straightened up and took a few steps closer “How you feel? Tense?” He smirked and looked over at the little instruments he could use and picked up the whip and twirled it thoughtfully as he glanced up at the Spaniard. He hummed lightly as he walked forward and made his way into the cell before stopping right in front of Antonio “You know I could take off the fork without adding a bit more pain and come back later or I could just do it now al at once. What say you?” He tilted his head, a large cruel smile on his face as he waited for an answer he knew the other couldn’t very well give.

Antonio opened his eyes when Arthur entered again. He released a short whimper and squeezed his eyes shut again. They opened at the mention of taking it off though and his eyes went wide. God please. Take it off. He wished he could say something. He wanted it off so badly. He didn't want to see it ever again. He was willing to sit through hours of being whipped. This was much worse than that.

Arthur tilted his head a bit more, his eyes glinting in satisfaction hearing the whimper and he hummed in pretend thought. He lashed out with the whip once, twice and stopped for a second before doing just two more. In different places of course. He looked over the Spaniard, slowly before nodding once and he looked up at him “Tilt your head back as far as you can so I can take it off.”

Antonio had to curl in his toes again and clench his fists. Tears poured harder out of his cheeks. He trembled, piercing his chin a bit more with the last two. He whimpered again and pulled his head up when he was told to, just wanting it off. He couldn't do this anymore. He wanted it off more than anything else.


	7. Chapter 7

Arthur took it off before turning to set it down. He looked up with a frown when one of his crew members came in rather quickly and pulled him to the side and he sighed in irritation before he waved his hand dismissively. He looked back at Antonio “Wish I could stay but i have some business to attend to.” He grinned and winked slightly mockingly before walking out. He would be back in no time and he could resume what he started.

Antonio’s head flopped forward and he trembled. The trembling sped up so he was shaking and he sobbed softly. He didn't want Arthur to hurt him anymore. He wanted to go back to his ship and curl into his bed and this would have never happened and he just couldn't imagine this continuing on without wanting to cry harder. He let all of his limbs hang against the chains holding them and continued to sob, just hoping Arthur wouldn't come back.

Arthur dealt with the situation rather quickly, he would need to talk to his crew about handling situations like this themselves. He dusted himself off and put on his amused and smug look before sauntering down into the brig and stopped short when he heard the chains clinking and furrowed his brows slightly, was he really trying to escape? That would be laughable. He walked closer before he realized it wasn’t that. The Spaniard was crying. That was interesting, he didn’t seem like the type being stubborn and proud. Did he actually manage to break him? Oh that would be wonderful. But then that would mean the fun was over. He leaned against the wall close to the cell “Well, what an interesting sight.”

Antonio looked up when he heard Arthur’s voice tears still streaming down his cheeks. He didn't try to stop them just because Arthur was there. He sniffled and whimpered softly. “P-please…” he whimpered. “I...I c-cant” he hug his head again and squeezed his eyes shut again as well.

Arthur’s lips curled into one of dark satisfaction and he walked closer and he tilted his head slightly as he stepped into the other’s personal space “Well, does that mean you give up? Do you admit I’m the better pirate?” He grinned widely, full of a promise of cruelty and dark hunger, his eyes, glinted almost madly as he looked up at the Spaniard, waiting. He wasn’t going to just let him go, but he wasn’t going to actually stop him if he tried to escape when he was out of the chains either. He knew the other was on the same level as him, if slightly better because of the experience, and Arthur needed a worthy adversary to keep him in shape. It would be fun and would keep the boredom of being the best on the seas relatively in check.

Antonio sniffled again and nodded. “You...you’re crazy” he whispered. “And...i guess...that makes you a better pirate” his voice was raspy and he trembled still. He just assumed Arthur would want to hear it from his mouth so he got it out of the way and said it. He wondered what this meant though. If Arthur was going to kill him or let him go, or if it meant nothing and he wouldn’t be able to stop Arthur from continuing to beat him. He hope that was not the case. He would honestly rather have been killed.

Arthur pondered it for a moment before nodding in satisfaction. That was acceptable. He turned and made his way out of the cell. “Goodnight, sleep well.” He called out cheerfully. He paused for a moment before grabbing the table itself, holding the three different tools he’s been using them and took them with him, kind of a way of saying he was done using them if the Spaniard actually understood subtle hints or if he was paying attention at all. He went to bed very content.

Antonio relaxed visibly when Arthur said goodnight, almost as if it was pulling a giant weight off of his shoulders. At least for now it was over. He watched him go, looking at the table and calming more when he noticed Arthur take the ‘tools’ away. He sniffled again and looked up, now realizing how disappointed in himself he was. He just broke for another captain. He told Arthur he was better and he didn't even hesitate? Maybe Arthur really was better. Antonio somehow managed to fall asleep to distract himself from the pain, hanging once again from the chains slightly.

Arthur slept wonderfully and slowly woke up, taking his time to lounge around before actually getting up to do his daily duties. He quickly spread what he wanted from them before having two of his men unchain Antonio and escort him up onto the deck. He waited until he saw the Spaniard and grinned “Good morning, after you have breakfast, just do what you did yesterday. Today I will be in my office dealing with business. Again you can have all the meals with the men.” He didn’t bother waiting for confirmation before turning on his heels and walking off. He planned it so the Spaniard could actually ‘escape’ if he wanted to, at a few points in the day Antonio would be well out of sight of any of his crew members as they would suddenly have ‘business’ to deal with somewhere else. If the brunette chose not to take any of the opportunities well Arthur wouldn’t really care.

Antonio looked up when men entered to unchain him. He stumbled after them and looked up at Arthur. So he was just supposed to continue on with work? He supposed he wouldn’t complain though, since at least Arthur wasn’t hurting him. He nodded slightly and paused. Arthur would be in his office. Maybe he could get away? He couldn't try the day before. Since Arthur was out and about all day if a crew member wasn't watching him Arthur was. Maybe just maybe he could manage to get away. After all, he already gave in to Arthur. Maybe that was why he trusted it to stay in his office. He would just wait to see if an opportunity arose. He would take it if he could.

Arthur went and lounged in his office the whole day, having food brought to him whenever meal was held. He was waiting for someone to come and tell him the Spaniard disappeared. He would pretend to make a scene, he had it all planned out really. If he didn’t he didn’t really know what else to do because he wasn’t going to just wave him away, who did that? And throwing him overboard wasn’t really an option since well that was the same thing basically. His men did as ordered and conveniently left at odd times to give some opportunity to the Spaniard. Particularly around meal times the spaces between times where a crew member would trade places to ‘watch’ him increased.

Antonio noticed a few spots. He didn't take the first few but finally he decided that he would. He stole a life boat carefully and climbed in it before lowering it to the water. He breathed out shakily and nodded, cutting the ropes and using the oars to push away. He looked up at the sun, judged the time of day and headed east. Eventually he'd have to hit land.


End file.
